Prescribed Burn Planned This Week For Umpqua Beach

The purpose of the burn is to reduce hazardous fuel buildup, and control non-native vegetation growing in the area.

Salem-News.com

(FLORENCE) - This week, fire management personnel from the Siuslaw National Forest are planning to conduct a prescribed burn on the Umpqua Beach portion of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

`This is a continuation of on ongoing program to reduce hazardous fuels and non-native vegetative species on the Oregon Dunes", said Tim McKillop, assistant fire management officer on the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area.

Under the Healthy Forest Initiative hazardous fuels reduction is intended to reduce the potential for fires in forest areas adjacent to communities and high-use recreation areas.

The prescribed burn will be conducted between Staging Area #2 and Staging Areat #3 at Umpqua Beach located south of Winchester Bay.

During burning operations the Umpqua Beach road will be closed at the gate near Staging Area #2, south to Staging Area #3.

Visitors will be able to continue to use Staging Area #2 and access the open sand from that point.

The project is expected to take approximately two hours to complete.

According to McKillop, timing of the burn is dependent on weather conditions.

`We need dry conditions and favorable winds to be able to complete this project", he said. `We will especially monitor wind direction to avoid smoke impacts to residential areas."